Twisted by the Shinra
by SenseofDecay
Summary: A detailed story about the romance between Sephiroth's parents, and his life, from birth, until death.


_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FFVII characters (but if I did, then I'd let Sephiroth run loose, lol) etc, etc. **_

**_AN: This is just my interpretation of the life of Sephiroth, Lucrecia, Hojo and Vincent, so if things don't seem to be accurate, then that's why!

* * *

_**

Two figures stood in the altar of a church, facing each other, in front of their friends, family, and the priest who was smiling down upon them. They held onto the other's hands gently, their fingers lightly interlocking.

Most of the couple's vows had been exchanged, during which time the woman kept her head bowed, thinking that if she dared to raise her view and look at her new husband she would start to weep with joy. There was a slight pause, and the woman realised that she was expected to say her part.

'I do,' she said, loudly enough for all to hear, managing to work up the courage to look at the man before her.

He was quite short and skinny, in a way that some people might say 'runty', with long, black hair slicked back into a pony tail. His large, darkly coloured eyes were obscured by round glasses.

His attire consisted of a black suit with a white shirt, which made a big change, as normally, he would very rarely be seen out of his lab coat, always buttoned up right underneath the chin. _But then again,_ mused the woman,_ it is his wedding day._

For a brief second, the woman looked away from her husband and shot a glance at somebody sitting in a pew at the front. He too, was dressed smartly in a suit, but his was a deep royal blue, as opposed to the other man's black suit. His black hair had been cut short so that it did not fall into his eyes. He had a certain aura of good looks around him, but unfortunately, the coldness that seemed to surround him pushed people away; as it happened, even at the wedding, the people sitting in the same pew as him looked as though they would like nothing more than to back away. His mouth twitched into a vague, sad smile, followed by the shadow of a sigh.

The pair at the altar exchanged another glance as the priest spoke.

'I can now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.'

The husband swept his new wife into his arms and placed a long, loving kiss on her lips, in front of the entire congregation, who leapt to their feet and applauded the happy couple. Reluctantly, the cold man at the front followed suit, wanting to try and be happy for the woman.

They exited the church, followed by the guests at the wedding, who were all crowding around the happy couple, wanting to congratulate them some more. The woman was busy talking to another, when somebody came softly up behind her.

'Lucrecia,' he murmured.

Lucrecia turned around, and found herself staring, gazing into the steely grey eyes of the cold, distant man who had sat at the front so regretfully.

'Vincent,' she replied, a smile brightening her features.

Vincent embraced her in a warm hug, as her smile grew until she was beaming from ear to ear.

'I'm pleased for you,' he told her quietly.

'And Hojo?' Lucrecia asked.

'I suppose so.'

Lucrecia smirked. She knew that her husband Hojo and her ex and best male friend Vincent had never gotten along.

'Vincent,' said an icy voice stiffly. Hojo had come over to see who his wife was talking to.

'I was merely saying to Lucrecia that I was happy for her,' stated Vincent, a callous, careless glint in his metallic eyes.

'Come Lucrecia,' Hojo interrupted, grabbing her arm and turning her away from Vincent, without taking his eyes off the dark blue clad man once, 'we've got a wedding cake to cut.'

* * *

Vincent Valentine thought that was it. He was never going to see Lucrecia again, not without some reminder that she was now taken, now happily married to the man that he loathed with a dire passion. 

His relationship with Lucrecia was barely anything more than a young fling, just a few weeks of sex before saying goodbye to each other, whilst still remaining friends. That was what they had decided on when they started. But Vincent knew that he was falling for Lucrecia, and was certain that she was developing feelings for him in return.

He sat in his room, dressed again in the suit he wore to Lucrecia's and Hojo's wedding; the uniform of the Turks. A frighteningly large band of spies, murderers, and other unpleasant characters who worked for the main company, Shinra. Vincent, along with the other Turks, spent most of his time at his occupation scouting for possible candidates for Shinra's own personal army, SOLDIER.

Vincent held in his hands a small photograph. The bedsprings creaked slightly as he adjusted his weight, all the while staring at the photo. He could make out himself very easily, because after all, he had not changed much in appearance, except for the fact that his hair was very slightly longer. His grey eyes were still as cold and distant as ever.

On one side of him in the photo was the beautiful Lucrecia. She was smiling happily, holding onto a large bouquet of flowers that had been bundled into her arms seconds before the flash went off.

On his other side was some random guest that had wanted their picture taken. Vincent failed to recall his name. Not that he even cared, of course.

Lucrecia and Hojo had been married for a number of months now; he suspected that they were creeping up to their first anniversary. But something about Lucrecia's attitude when she last saw him bothered him. She seemed so….far away. Like she was thinking about something unpleasant whilst he was talking, like his words conjured up a demon from her past. Vincent was certain that there was something bothering her, but she dared not speak her mind, and Vincent dared not ask. The last time she had complained about him was when she was fed up of Hojo taking her for granted, and putting more effort into his work rather than his marriage.

Vincent was shaken out of his reverie by a sharp rapping on the door of his quarters. He quickly stuffed the photograph under his bed, pushing his hair out of his eyes, and opened the door. He did not even see who it was that was on the other side before they had attached themselves to him.

He held his visitor away from him, looking at their face. It was Lucrecia.

'Lucrecia, what are you doing here? Does Hojo know you've come to see me?'

'No, he doesn't,' she replied.

Lucrecia's eyes were a delicate pale blue. She had a long mane of honey coloured hair which fell right down to her waist. Her slender, curvaceous figure was obstructed by the lab coat which frequently wore as a scientist, like her husband.

'What is the matter?' Vincent was acutely aware of the fact that his arms were still around her, even if he was holding her away, and not pulling her close.

Ye Gods, he had never thought that he would be holding the woman of his life like this. The distance between them seemed so small.

'What is the matter?' Vincent repeated, as though speaking his question aloud multiple times would make her answer sooner. 'Is he still dedicating himself to his work more than you?'

'Yes,' replied Lucrecia simply. 'But there's more…'

'What more? What else has he done to make to make you miserable?' Vincent's voice was getting tighter as he thought of Hojo hurting this perfect woman.

'He's started to get violent with me,' whispered Lucrecia, tears sparkling brightly in her eyes now.

She pulled away from Vincent and slipped open her lab coat, allowing it to fall to the floor. She was wearing short trousers and a t-shirt underneath, revealing a ghastly number of cuts and bruises on her arms and legs from where blows had been landed on her flesh. Vincent swore under his breath, seething at what he had seen.

'It's so sore,' she said, indicating the marks, and running one hand over the other upper arm.

'You don't need to say, I can imagine. I'm not surprised, he's practically tenderised you. What on earth happened to make him get like this?'

'I challenged him. About the work problem, and I had a big go at him. He didn't like it much, obviously, and he beat me until I was like this. Then, I think he must have realised that he was bordering on murder as well as grievous bodily harm, and let me go,' explained Lucrecia.

'How long ago was this?'

'Recently. Like the other day. He's been keeping a watch on me, to make sure that I didn't do anything….like come to you.'

'In that case, you had best leave,' Vincent told her. 'If you get caught here, I don't want you to get beaten even more so.'

'I don't want to leave, I'll only get beaten more,' replied Lucrecia, with a hint of pleading in her tone.

Vincent sighed. He had no idea what to do. He did not want to let Lucrecia get harmed, by her worthless excuse of a husband, but he knew that no matter what she did, she was at risk.

He was suddenly aware of the feel of Lucrecia's hand on his wrist, grasping it tightly. She leant in closer to him, and planted a small kiss on the nape of his neck. He backed away.

'What is it?' Lucrecia asked him. 'You don't want to?'

'Of course I do,' replied Vincent. 'But you now belong to Hojo, not me. Imagine what he would do to the both of us if he found out that we so much as made eye contact, let alone anything more.'

'I don't care about him any more. _You're_ the one that I'm interested in.'

Vincent managed a weak smile, and allowed Lucrecia to continue kissing his skin, before pulling him over to his bed, dragging him on top of her.

* * *

Several hours later, Lucrecia awoke, to find herself in Vincent's bed, both of their figures naked. She sat up with a gasp, and looked at the awakening man beside her. 

'I should go,' she told him. 'Hojo'll be wondering where I am.'

'I thought you didn't care about him any more?' Vincent shot at her.

'I don't. I just don't want to give him an excuse to hurt me any more. He'll be wondering where I am already.'

Without another word, she slipped out of his bed, and gathered up her clothes, before saying a silent goodbye, by granting him a small kiss. Just a small peck on the lips, before leaving. She was dreading facing her husband. How could she talk to him, knowing that she had just committed an act of infidelity?

* * *

As it happened, when she arrived back at her house, Hojo was standing in the front door frame, looking menacing. 

'Where have you been?' he snarled at her.

'I just wanted to go for a long walk,' Lucrecia lied expertly. 'I just wanted to feel the wind through my hair, that's all.'

She walked past him, resisting the urge to flinch as her arm grazed his.

'You could have told me where you were,' he snapped at her, his voice turning cold, angry.

'I'm sorry, I never thought to,' Lucrecia told him in an almost pleading tone.

'Ungrateful cow,' he whispered in her ear. 'You think I wouldn't worry?'

She started to protest, when Hojo screamed at her, and snatched up the nearest thing to hand, which was a small china figurine. He hurled it across the room, catching her in the jaw. It splintered on impact, a shard of the china embedding itself in her lip, causing it to bleed. She raised a hand to her mouth to wipe away the blood, looking horror-struck at her husband.

'What the hell are you doing?' she screamed at him, furiously.

'_You could have told me!'_ Hojo's shrieks nearly deafened her.

He was starting towards her with a dangerous glint in his eyes, which Lucrecia had come to know meant one thing; he was about to try and hit her again. Thinking fast, she snatched the fist which was speeding through the air, and pressed her lips to his, feeling sickened.

Hojo was instantly docile, all thoughts of violence gone as his wife kissed him. He broke away, and grinned at her.

'I do really love you, even if I don't always show it,' he told her. Lucrecia was feeling slightly surprised by Hojo's complete change in personality, but failed to keep the sceptical thoughts from zooming through her mind.

_No you don't, you stupid man, I know full well you don't anymore…_

She noticed that Hojo was trying to pull her into the bedroom, and that she was unconsciously resisting him. The idea of kissing him revolted her enough, and the last thing she wanted to do was to go to bed with him. But she could tell that he was starting to get irritated with her resistance. She did not want to give him cause to beat her again. Instead, she tried to take his mind off heading into the bedroom.

'Why don't you show me what you've been doing at work?' she asked, the first question that came into her mind.

Hojo sighed.

'Don't start all this stuff about me dedicating myself to my work again,' he warningly told her.

'I'm not, I'm not!' Lucrecia replied hastily, 'I'm genuinely interested.'

Hojo shot her a suspicious look, but pulled her by the hand into the small lab they had in their house.

Set on the floor was a large glass jar, containing something which looked horrifically human sized and shaped.

'What's _that?'_ she gasped, one hand over her mouth. The feel of her skin on her broken lip stung slightly.

'That, my dear,' Hojo began, looking rapturously in the jar, 'is the Jenova Specimen. Found in a geological stratum two thousand years ago. The reports about it when it was first discovered are all in a book somewhere, in the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. I had a brief glance through it once.'

'That's all well and good, but what is it?'

'The Jenova Specimen was confirmed to be an Ancient, one of the Cetra,' Hojo explained. 'What _exactly_ it is, even I can't tell you, but I think I can use its DNA to create people with the characteristics of the Cetra. That's what I've been working on.'

'You've been trying to create more Ancients?' Lucrecia asked, in a hollow voice.

'That's what I'm hoping to be able to do. I've been testing the effects of the genes of Jenova on dead specimens to start off with, just to see if there are any unusual side effects, and I think I'm ready to move onto live specimens to test.'

Lucrecia was glad that her husband's back was turned, because she had clapped her hands to her mouth again, feeling sickened, and trying not to scream. She took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to calm herself.

'I've yet to find a live specimen yet, though. Perhaps one of the creatures that run around nearby outside. It might be an idea to try it out on an animal first, before on a human.'

'Does Professor Gast know you're doing this?' Lucrecia questioned, referring to her husband's boss. Hojo laughed almost giddily.

'_Know!'_ he crowed. 'Does he _know!_ Lucrecia my darling –' he turned around to patronizingly take her hands in his, and look into her deep eyes with his own mirthful ones '- this whole thing was his idea! He thinks it's a brilliant idea!'

* * *

During the next few months, Lucrecia vowed to keep well out of the way of her husband's research, feeling strangely sick every time he mentioned the name 'Jenova', which, much to her despair, was becoming more and more recently. 

But of late, she had noticed that the Jenova Specimen was no longer her biggest problem.

'I'm going for another walk,' she told Hojo, sliding her arms around his neck, and trying to ignore the fact that her skin was crawling. 'I don't know how long I'll be, but I'm sure the longer, the better, right? Gives you more chance to continue with your research, undisturbed.'

Hojo barely nodded in reply as Lucrecia exited, and ran full pelt back to Vincent.

She burst into the Turk's compound, and made her way to Vincent's quarters, hammering loudly on his door.

'Whoa, hold up little lady,' said a voice behind her. She turned around to see one of Vincent's colleagues. 'Who you lookin' for? Not ole Vinny, surely?'

'I'm looking for _Vincent Valentine,_ not _Vinny_,' she told the Turk scathingly. The Turk shrugged.

'Vinny, Vincent, same difference. It's all good.'

'Do you know where he is, or not?' she snapped at him.

'Might do,' replied the awkward man. 'But first, you gotta be politer to me.'

'Lucrecia, what are you doing here again?' came a new voice.

Lucrecia turned; Vincent was striding down the corridor. He waved a hand at his colleague, in a less than friendly way.

'Get out of here Reno, you vulture. Go and find somebody else to irritate.'

The Turk named Reno left reluctantly, as Vincent held the door open for Lucrecia. Instantly, he started to ask what she was doing.

'I needed to see you. Urgently.'

'Oh God. Come right out with it please, you know I don't like being kept in suspense.'

'I'm pregnant. It's yours,' Lucrecia said. Vincent's expression was one of utter shock.

'Shit, I wasn't expecting you to be _that_ straightforward with me,' he replied. 'What are you going to do? Are you going to keep it, or get rid of it?'

'Keep it, probably.'

'Are you sure it's mine?'

'You were the last person I've slept with. Hojo nearly violated my body the same night, but I managed to dissuade him. I'm positive it's yours, unless somebody slept with me while I was asleep and I didn't notice,' Lucrecia said.

'So it could be Hojo's after all, then,' retorted Vincent.

'Shut up, this is serious!' Lucrecia looked pleadingly at him. 'I don't know what to tell Hojo.'

'Say nothing.'

'And what am I meant to say when I start showing?' she growled. 'Just say that I've got a rare illness which causes swelling of the abdomen, and as a side effect, I could have a baby randomly?'

'He'd probably believe it.'

'I give up with you. I'm going to go back and tell him that I'm pregnant. If he asks, then…I'll make something up.'

Before Vincent could say anything more, Lucrecia had turned and left, and was storming out of the entire compound.

She burst through the front door of her house, realising that she had returned home to the sound of two men talking. She recognised the new male voice; it was Professor Gast.

'I have to say, I am impressed with your research so far,' Gast told his assistant. 'But what I really want to know, is, have you started testing the Jenova DNA on any live creatures yet?'

'I've tested it on a few,' she heard Hojo reply. 'And, I'm pleased to announce that the results are _mostly_ the same. All the creatures seemed to act lethargic shortly after the injection, but the majority recovered quite rapidly, and had developed great strength. It seems the Jenova DNA gives most of the specimens increased power.'

'What do you think will happen if the Jenova cells were injected into a human?' Gast asked.

'Probably something similar to the creatures. Feeling tired, and lethargic to begin with, and in most cases, getting over it quite quickly, and experiencing great strength and power. I should imagine that the power would be match the power of the Ancients. Our goal, Professor Gast, can be reached, all by the wonder that is Jenova.'

'Very interesting, Hojo. Again, I have to tell you that I am most impressed.'

'Ah, but I don't think that's all sir,' Hojo added. 'It gets more interesting if the DNA of Jenova is injected into the womb of a pregnant woman. If the creatures I tested on are anything to go by – I discovered afterwards that one of the creatures was in fact, pregnant – then the baby could live its entire life feeling lethargic, and incredibly weak, and the mother could gain the Cetra-esque strength. _Or_, the mother could stay permanently fragile, and the opposite effect on the baby.'

Lucrecia felt that she could hide her presence no longer, and coughed loudly, before entering the room, pretending that she had only just arrived back home. She smiled gracefully as she entered the room Hojo and Gast were in, and greeted him.

'Hello Lucrecia, nice to see you again,' he said warmly, shaking her hand.

'Yes, and you. Erm, Hojo, can I quickly borrow you for a second? I need to tell you something.'

'Can't it wait until this is finished?'

_If only it could,_ thought Lucrecia._ But if I don't tell you now, I won't work up the courage to again…_

'Not really. I would like to tell you now, and just get it out of the way and dealt with.'

Hojo sighed.

'If you must. Please excuse me, Professor Gast. I'll try not to be too long,' he apologised.

'Take as long as you want,' Gast replied.

Hojo walked out of the room, and lingered in the corridor nearby, not wanting to be too far away from Gast.

'Well? What is it?' he hissed.

'I think you ought to know that, well…I'm with child,' Lucrecia mumbled.

'What?'

'I'm pregnant,' she said, louder.

She waited for the screaming to start. She waited for her husband to become enraged at her, demanding to know who the father was, threatening to tear his head clean from his neck, and other such things. But, to her immense surprise, none of it happened.

'I'm going to be a father?' he asked quietly.

Lucrecia nodded. He honestly could not seriously think that the baby was his? But he did not seem to notice. Instead, he took her by surprise by sweeping her up into his arms, and lifting her off the ground, twirling her around. He pulled her back into the room where Gast was waiting, grinning widely.

'Professor Gast!' he called. 'My wife has just given me information that might be of use to us both!'

Lucrecia stared at him.

_What are you thinking, Hojo?_

'Oh?' Gist's face was set in an expression of polite curiosity.

'She's _pregnant,'_ he leered. 'We can use the Jenova DNA to see if we can create a human with the strength of the Ancients!'

'Are you sure it's a good idea to try that so soon?' Gast questioned.

'To be honest sir, I've been desperate to try and do this as soon as possible,' Hojo told him. 'I know how it could be done. Just a small injection of Jenova cells directly into the womb of a pregnant woman, preferably in the early stages of pregnancy, and then allow the baby to develop as normal. When it's born, well…that's when we see whether the baby will have the Ceteral strength or not.'

'Excuse me, Hojo,' interrupted Lucrecia, in a tone of anger. 'But were you planning on actually _asking_ me whether you could put this Jenova _crap_ into my body, and the baby of my unborn child? Or were you just going to force it onto me?'

'Lucrecia, nobody would dream of making you go along with this if it was against your will,' Gast started soothingly.

'Good! Because I can say right now, that I want no part of this! I don't want to raise a freak baby just for yours and Hojo's sick research!'

Lucrecia left without saying anything else. Hojo could feel the disappointed stare of his boss on him.

'Don't you worry, Professor Gast, I'll make her see sense. I promise.'

* * *

Dinner that evening was a subdued affair. Lucrecia was still angry with Hojo for his suggesting, and decided that she was going to be adamant if he tried to change her mind. She felt his dirty gaze on her as she swept down to his side of the table and picked up his empty plate, before whisking away into the kitchen with her own dishes. 

Hojo retreated into the small laboratory, and picked up an empty syringe, before inserting it into Jenova's lifeless arm, and withdrawing some of its blood. He made his way back into the dining room, and set it down on the table, hidden by a pot that Lucrecia had not yet taken away.

'Can I ask you to reconsider?' he started off softly.

'No,' was all the answer he got.

'Just think about it for a second,' he replied. 'The Cetra are a dying race. If you allow me to do this, then it would give them the chance to replenish themselves. If it works, then we can try other pregnant women, and talk them into it. We can get the Cetra back! Don't tell me that the idea of the Cetra leading us all to the Promised Land isn't tempting.'

'The Promised Land is a _legend,_ Hojo,' Lucrecia icily reminded him. 'A Ceteral rumour.'

'You never know, it might not be,' Hojo answered back. 'At least think about it!'

'Alright, I'll think about it.' Lucrecia paused for a few seconds. 'I've thought. My answer's still no.'

'For God's sake, you stupid cow, can't you see what this means?'

'Yes, I can, and I don't want anything to do with it! It's _sick_. Other species have died out, and I don't see you trying to revive them. The Cetra are nearly gone, just face it. You won't be able to create a proper Cetra, anyway! All you'll be able to make is nothing more than an imitation, a fake. If it was possible to actually get the _proper_ Ancients alive, then I might have a different view. But I won't allow you start making copies of a species.'

'In which case, you give me no choice,' Hojo smoothly said, his ugly face set in a grimace.

He pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket, and started for Lucrecia, who had realised what was about to happen, and was now trying to flee. Hojo snatched at one of her wrists, and pulled her back, restraining her. He snapped the cuffs around her wrists behind her back, and pressed her back to a wall. He slapped her roughly around the face for her disobedience, and grabbed the syringe. He lifted the top she was wearing, revealing her swollen pregnant belly, and injected Jenova's DNA into her womb, whilst she cried with pain.

She wanted to slap him, kick him, scream and yell at him, but the pain of the injection kept her docile.

'I suggest you go to bed and have a nap for a few hours,' Hojo coldly told her. 'You won't be fit for much else soon.'

* * *

The months dragged on, whilst Lucrecia's baby continued to develop, tainted with the genes of Jenova. She seemed to do nothing but sleep. She was vaguely aware of when Professor Gast came to visit Hojo, but did not go down to speak to the two men. She decided to let them get on with their sick research. 

_Research which I've unwillingly become a part of,_ Lucrecia angrily thought, before another wave of sleep consumed her.

When her contractions came, Hojo had her rushed to the hospital, not out of concern for his wife, but out of concern for the baby, which Lucrecia had noticed he had taken to referring to as 'Jenova's baby'.

He was foolish enough to allow her to grasp his hand for something to hold on to when she had a contraction, and soon found himself tugging his hand free and feeling somewhat crippled.

As soon as the baby was born, the midwife slit the umbilical cord, and went to weigh it.

'Congratulations,' she said, turning back with a small bundle in her arms. 'You've got a healthy baby boy.'

Hojo held his arms out for the baby, ignoring the tired form of Lucrecia, who was still feeling drained from the effects of Jenova.

'What are you going to call him?' the midwife amiably asked. Hojo paused for a second, thinking.

'Sephiroth.'

* * *

Young Sephiroth found that he had very few memories of his mother as he grew up. He was virtually raised completely by his father, always being told 'she's in bed' whenever he dared to question the whereabouts of his mother. Whenever he _did_ see her, it was never a pretty sight. The couple rowed a lot, despite the fact that their five year old son was in the room at the time, merely hunched up in one corner, crying softly, and trying to block out the sounds of the screaming unsuccessfully. 

Lucrecia's head snapped to one side as Hojo struck her again.

'You, horrible, evil _vile_ bastard!' Lucrecia screamed at him, reaching forwards to claw at his eyes with her nails, but finding her restrained before she could do much. 'You pumped me full of that crap, and expect me to be able to raise Sephiroth? You've not let me get anywhere near the poor boy!'

'I was stupid enough to think that you might recover after his birth,' Hojo icily told her. 'I was wrong. So, therefore, you can't go near the boy until you're fit enough to act like a mother.'

Lucrecia summoned up all the energy she could, and forced her fist through the air, directly at Hojo's face. She had caught him unawares, and slammed her knuckles right into his chin.

She sank to her knees from the effort of throwing a punch.

'Please, Hojo…'she begged quietly. 'Please do something, anything, so that I can have my old strength back…'

Hojo merely responded by glaring at his wife's form, crumpled on the floor, on her hands and knees, and kicked her in the side, so she ended up lying on her back. He looked around the room and saw his small, silver haired son whimpering softly.

'It's alright,' he soothingly whispered to the boy, picking him up, 'Mummy won't be trying anything again now.'

_So now, we finally see which one has taken on the strength of Jenova…the mother is still weak, which means that the baby will grow up with the power of the Cetra…_

'You're a very special boy, Sephiroth. Don't you forget that.'

* * *

Sephiroth had listened to his father talking to another man, who he thought was called 'Professor Gasp'; the two of them spoke regularly about something called Jenova, but he did not understand what it was. 

The little boy walked in on his father in the middle of a meeting.

'Ah, and here's the little sprite now!' said Hojo, breaking into a grin, and picking his son up. 'Do you know who this man here is?'

'You're Professor Gasp!' Sephiroth exclaimed, grinning widely at the professor, showing off a gap where one of his milk teeth had fallen out. Gast laughed.

'Not quite, son. _Gast,_ not Gasp.' He looked at Hojo. 'How has Sephiroth been?'

'Perfectly fine. The little tyke has just started school, and –'

'Yes, yes, while I'd like to know about _that_, it wasn't schooling that I was interested in. Has he shown any signs of inheriting the Ceteral strength?'

'Not yet. But, Lucrecia hasn't either, and she is as weak as anything, so I am sure that Sephiroth will start showing soon, Professor.'

'I certainly hope so,' Gast replied, slightly stonily.

* * *

'Get out of my way, weirdo!' 

Sephiroth found himself being thrown out of the way, into a large puddle in the school playground. He shot a look at the boy who had thrown him over; he was now running clear across the grounds, chasing another boy, laughing and playing. Sephiroth hauled himself back to his feet, sodden through and through, and angrily kicked at the puddle.

He had now been attending school for several years, and was dismayed to notice that he had been the main target for bullies every year, which always resulted in his father being summoned into the school. The outcome for that, Sephiroth noted, was always the same. Hojo would come in, and have a go at the teachers for the lack of discipline, before returning home with Sephiroth, and screaming at his mother for an hour, at least.

'Are you okay, Sephiroth?' asked a kindly voice, a female.

Sephiroth looked up to see one of the teachers bent over him, looking at him in a concerned fashion.

'I saw that boy push you into the puddle,' she told him. 'Maybe another conference with your father would be an idea.'

'No! Please, don't bring Daddy back in here,' begged Sephiroth, wrapping his arms around the teacher's calves.

The teacher looked pitifully at Sephiroth. She, among the rest of the faculty, had noticed that Sephiroth did not seem to have any friends at all. There was something about the boy, something different. She had spoken to the other teachers about it, and all of them noticed that Sephiroth was slightly abnormal when compared to the other students, but nobody could put their finger on the difference.

She bent down to Sephiroth's level, and looked him squarely in the eyes.

'If those boys try to bully you or anything else like that again, then you come straight to the staff room and tell me, okay?'

'Okay,' Sephiroth timidly replied.

The teacher patted him gently on his silver head, before turning on her high heels and disappearing back into the staff room.

* * *

Much to Sephiroth's despair, the bullying failed to cease until he was in his late teens. He had started to attend college, at seventeen years old, thinking that maybe further education would rid him of the pests that haunted him since his childhood, only to realise that they had chosen the same path as him. 

Whilst the bullying problem for Sephiroth had by no means stopped, only the terminally stupid or incredibly strong still had the nerve to try and make his life a misery; Sephiroth's peers had all noticed the bulk of his arms as he started to work out, and build up his strength. Sephiroth knew that he was strong, and was just waiting for when one of the idiots that surrounded him to make one false move.

He stopped outside a classroom in the middle of a partially crowded corridor, when his path was blocked by the most persistent bully, Zane.

'Hey Seph!' he called, a large smile plastered across his face.

Sephiroth noticed how the other people around them stopped what they were doing to watch himself and Zane.

'And what do _you_ want?' Sephiroth wearily asked.

'Oh tut, is that the nicest thing you can say?' Zane taunted. 'We've been buddies, for….how long?'

'Too long.'

'Now, I _know_ you don't mean that, Seph,' Zane persisted.

'Do me a favour, will you?' Sephiroth asked, his neon blazing green eyes flickering. 'Get the hell away from me and leave me alone for a change. You're pathetic, Zane. We're seventeen now, and you still choose to act like a retarded twelve year old.'

The smile slid off Zane's face rapidly, to be replaced with a fierce glare.

'You just insulted me, I think.'

'Huh, you can think. I never thought I'd see the day,' Sephiroth retorted.

Sephiroth ducked out of the way as Zane tried to punch him. Instead, Zane's knuckles came into contact with the wall. He turned around, where Sephiroth was standing behind him, and made another attack. Sephiroth lazily flicked Zane's fist away, theatrically yawning.

Zane flew at Sephiroth, grabbing the strands of silver hair which framed his face. Sephiroth jabbed Zane sharply in the throat, causing the bully to choke. Zane tried again to snatch at Sephiroth's hair, and caught a handful, before trying to swing him around, into the wall.

Sephiroth managed to stop the momentum and pushed Zane's head away, so that it cracked against the wall. He then held Zane by the collar of his shirt against the wall, pulling him away from it, and then slamming him back into it.

The crowd that had circled around the pair were whistling and cheering. Some of them were cheering for Sephiroth, eager to see the bully defeated. Others were cheering for Zane, in hope to watch the one that had been reputed as 'the geek' get hurt.

Sephiroth grabbed Zane's fringe, and forced his head down so that Zane was bent double. Sephiroth then nearly threw Zane behind him. Zane had toppled over, onto his knees, and straightened up again as fast as possible, as Sephiroth turned around, pleased for an opportunity to use his superior strength.

Zane kicked Sephiroth in the shins, which seemed to have little effect, if any at all. Sephiroth whipped his fist around Zane's face in a backhand punch, the other hand shooting out and allowing his fingers to coil around Zane's neck.

By now, the immense noise of the on-lookers had attracted the attention of the teachers, several of whom were hurrying along the corridor, trying to dance around students to get to Sephiroth, to peel him off Zane.

'_Sephiroth, put him down!'_ screamed the authoritative male voice of the principle.

Sephiroth glanced around to see that he was completely surrounded by students and teachers. He knew that he was not going to be able to get away from the crowd without being caught by one of the staff.

He lifted Zane high up above his head, squeezing the air out of Zane's throat. He felt a sick pleasure at hearing the gasps of Zane, struggling for breath above him. Sephiroth turned back to the wall that he had pinned Zane against, and threw the defeated figure into it.

Zane's head made a loud _crack_ which caused a number of students and teachers alike to shudder and cry out. Zane's body slid down the wall, bleeding from the head, and leaving a faint trail of blood down the plaster as he fell to the ground. Sephiroth watched as he crumpled up on the floor, wondering whether Zane was actually dead, or just badly knocked out.

He had been seized by the principle, and several other teachers, and escorted to the principle's office, where the secretary immediately leapt onto the phone to Hojo, who appeared quarter of an hour later, seething.

'Dare I ask what the boy's done?' growled Hojo upon seating himself, casting a venomous look upon his son.

'Grievous bodily harm on another student, who will have to be taken to hospital for extensive treatment,' the principle told Hojo.

Both the men noticed that Sephiroth did not even have the decency to look slightly embarrassed, or as though he regretted his actions.

'Just expel the brute already,' snapped Hojo. 'I know that's what's coming. Let's get it over with already.'

'You read my mind, sir. I had in fact called you here to say that maybe it would be a good idea to remove Sephiroth from this college, and to give him a fresh start elsewhere, possibly somewhere he might not feel like murdering other students.'

'This kid Sephiroth beat the crap out of….he's _not_ dead, is he?'

'Not that we know of so far. According to the hospital he was emitted to, he should make it with intensive care,' the principle informed Hojo.

Later, Hojo had grabbed Sephiroth by the beck of his clothing, and dragged him out of the principle's office, feeling even more angry than he had done before.


End file.
